Lecture 1

The Origins of the International State System

Origins of the International State System

• Modern state System Originated in the 30 Years’ War (1618-1648).

• War of Political Authority:– Where did final political authority reside?– Who Would Control Land and Taxation?– To Whom would Tax Revenues Accrue?

• Four Central Actors– Catholic Church– The Habsburgs, Controlling the Holy Roman Empire.– Local Princes in Germany– Other Great Powers, Particularly France and Sweden.

Holy Roman Empire

The War

• 1618-1629: Habsburgs crush Protestants in Germany. • 1631-1635: Sweden intervenes against Habsburgs, led by

Gustavos Adolphus and supported by France. – Both have the same goal: if Habsburgs dominate Germany,

their independence is imperiled. As Cardinal Richelieu states: “If Germany is lost, France cannot exist.”

– Gustavus crushes Habsburgs in a series of battles in 1631-32, but is killed in a battle in September 1932.

• 1635-1648: France invades Germany to finish off the Habsburgs.

• Very Costly War—estimated that about half of the German population killed.

Treaty of Westphalia, 1648• Victory for German Princes Over:

– Catholic Church– Habsburg Empire

• Gave Individual Rulers in Holy Roman Empire:– the Right to Govern their Land Free of External Interference.– Keep any Land They Had Confiscated From Church

• Broader Importance:– Ended Imperial Unity and Unity Under Catholic Church As

Organizing Principle For Europe.– Evolved into Modern Principle of Sovereignty: “Supreme and

independent political authority of the nation-state within its own territory.”

The Anarchic International System

• Sovereignty Creates an Anarchic International State System: Politics in the Absence of a Higher Authority.

• Politics in the Absence of Strong Political Institutions that Provide a Monopoly on Coercive Force and Legitimacy to the Political Process.

• Anarchy is the Central Condition of International Politics.

Two Theories of Politics Under Anarchy

Realism Vs. Liberalism

Realism• Roots in Thucydides’

Account of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC)

• Modern Origins in 17th and 18th Century Political Theory– Hobbes (1651), Machiavelli

• Draws a Very Sharp Distinction Between the Ordered Nature of Politics within Nations and the Dis-ordered Nature of Politics Between Nations

• Very Pessimistic Perspective on International Politics

• Interaction under Anarchy is Equivalent to Life in a State of Nature

• Resulting International State System is a War of All Against All.

• International Politics is Dominated by Fighting or Preparing to Fight Wars

Liberalism

• Has its Origins in Late 18th Century Enlightenment Thought– John Locke; Immanuel

Kant; J.J. Rousseau

• Inspired by Modern Notion of Progress and Human Ability to Control Nature

• Draws a Less-Sharp Distinction Between Domestic and International Politics

• Relatively Hopeful (if not optimistic) Perspective on International Politics.

• Fear Will Cause Governments to Combine Independent Nations into Larger Political Units.

• Process of Political Integration Will Be Reinforced By International Economic Interdependence

Realism Vs. Liberalism

• Realism is Pessimistic; Emphasizing Enduring Nature of Anarchy that Cannot Be Altered.

• Liberalism is Hopeful; Emphasizing Human Ability to Alter its Environment By Creating New Political Institutions.

• More Than A Sterile Debate Among Political Theorists; One Can See the Interplay Between Realism and Liberalism in the Real World.

Realism and State Behavior

• Realism Has Been Used to Explain Why There is Sometimes War and Sometimes Peace Among the Great Powers.

• Realist Explanations of War and Peace Focus on the Balance of Power.

• How do Changes in the Balance of Power Affect the Probability of War and Peace?

Power

• Power as Influence.

• Power as Capability.

Great Powers by GNP (1998)

United States $8 trillion

China $4 or 2 trillion

Japan $3 trillion

Germany $1.5 trillion

Russia $1 trillion

France $1 trillion

Britain $1 trillion

Military Spending

Military Expenditures

(Billions)

Soldiers

(Millions)

United States $280 1.5

Russia $40 1.3

China $35 2.9

France $50 0.4

Britain $35 0.2

Germany $40 0.4

Japan $50 0.2

% of World 65 percent 30 percent

The Nuclear Balance

Great Powers Smaller CountriesCountry Warheads Country Warheads

U.S 12,070 India 65

Russia 22,500 Pakistan 15

China 400 Israel 100

France 450

Britain 260